Cricket side almost completely following the rules (5)
I believe the answer is:
legal
'following the rules' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'cricket side almost completely' is the wordplay.
'cricket side' becomes 'leg' (I've seen this before).
'almost completely' becomes 'al' (I've seen this in other clues).
'leg'+'al'='LEGAL'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for legal that I've seen before include "In accordance with statute" , "Referring to the law" , "Constitutional" , "not banned" , "Lawful" .)